Chicago's new interim U.S. attorney says he plans to keep the office's traditions and "Sunday brunch buffet" of sections alive and active in the Northern District of Illinois, even as he helps them thrive alongside his bosses' "very clear" priorities in Washington, D.C., and a personnel shortage in his office.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Chicago US Atty Focusing On Local Cases Amid DC Priorities

By Lauraann Wood

Chicago's new interim U.S. attorney says he plans to keep the office's traditions and "Sunday brunch buffet" of sections alive and active in the Northern District of Illinois, even as he helps them thrive alongside his bosses' "very clear" priorities in Washington, D.C., and a personnel shortage in his office.

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FTC Defends John Deere Right-To-Repair Suit

By Nadia Dreid

Farm machinery-maker Deere & Co. is trying to get out of an FTC enforcement action using the same arguments that didn't help it escape multidistrict litigation accusing the company of breaking antitrust laws by restricting access to repair services, the government says.

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2 Dozen States Say DOGE Can't 'Dismantle' AmeriCorps

By Thy Vo

Two dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging layoffs and $400 million in funding cuts to the national volunteer agency AmeriCorps, alleging the Trump administration is trampling over Congress' authority by trying to dismantle the agency.

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Trump Can't Reorganize Gov't Without Congress, Groups Say

By Beverly Banks

President Donald Trump lacks the power to reorganize the executive branch and push for mass terminations of workers when Congress hasn't given its blessing, unions and other groups told a California federal court.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Trump Executive Order Aims To Defend Police In Lawsuits

By Brandon Lowrey

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order directing the attorney general to help defend police officers from misconduct lawsuits, including arranging private-sector pro bono aid for them.

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LITIGATION

Honda America Asks To Halt Faulty Brakes Suit

By Lauren Berg

American Honda Motor Co. urged a California federal judge Monday to throw out an amended proposed class action alleging some of the automaker's vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking are unsafe, arguing the claims are meritless because the owner's manuals disclose the possibility of false activations of the braking system.

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Acadia Investors Seek Partial Win, Sanction In Healthcare Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

Investors suing behavioral health care provider Acadia Healthcare Co. have asked a federal judge to find that they relied on certain alleged misrepresentations before investing in the company after previously moving for sanctions over allegations that the company systematically destroyed pertinent records to stymie their understaffing claims.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

The 2025 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

Law firms and the legal profession are facing new uncertainties, shifting the stress levels, economic pressures, and overall contentment of lawyers in private practice, according to the 2025 Law360 Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey.

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'The Court Is Not A Cartoon': Judge Rips Dragon Watermark

By Hailey Konnath

A Michigan federal magistrate judge Monday ordered an East Lansing, Michigan, firm called Dragon Lawyers PC to stop plastering its pleadings with a large, suit-clad purple cartoon dragon watermark on each page, saying it's not only "distracting, it's juvenile and impertinent."

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Analysis

Feds Have Strong Hand On Judge Charged With Blocking ICE

By Danielle Ferguson and Carolyn Muyskens

A Wisconsin state judge faces an uphill battle in defending against federal criminal allegations that she helped a man evade immigration officials at a Wisconsin courthouse, but she may be able to stake out a defense in arguing the government can't prove intent, experts told Law360. 

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California Judge Loses Pay After Conviction For Murdering Wife

By Gina Kim

The California Commission on Judicial Performance formally suspended a California judge without pay after a state jury found him guilty of second-degree murder last week for shooting his wife to death in their Anaheim Hills home on Aug. 3, 2023, following a heated argument. 

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Q&A

Sullivan M&A Chief Sees Opportunities Amid Tariff Turmoil

By Al Barbarino

After a rocky start to 2025, the mergers and acquisitions landscape is grappling with economic volatility, shifting trade policies and a complex regulatory environment. But even in a "choppy" market, there are always deals to be made, says Melissa Sawyer, global head of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's M&A group and co-head of its corporate governance practice.

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NJ Judge Apologizes Through Waylon Jennings Lyrics

By George Woolston

Clark Township, New Jersey, Municipal Judge Antonio Inacio said Tuesday that he isn't proud of all the things that led him to appear before a Garden State judiciary disciplinary committee, but he can say that he never intentionally hurt anyone by his conduct.

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$10M Brown Rudnick Deal With Guo Trustee Gets Judge's OK

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a $10 million deal between Miles Guo's Chapter 11 trustee and the Chinese exile's onetime attorneys at Brown Rudnick LLP, and greenlighted 10 lesser settlements with other firms and luxury retailer Versace.

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Analysis

GOP Plan To Shutter Audit Watchdog Could Strain SEC

By Jessica Corso

Congressional Republicans are renewing the push to get rid of a financial regulator that conservatives have complained is costly and lacks proper oversight, but some former staffers at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board wonder whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has the manpower or expertise to take over the board's duties.

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Federal Defenders Of NY Staff Announce Union Drive

By Andrea Keckley

Staff members at the Federal Defenders of New York have announced their plans to join their attorney colleagues as members of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys.

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Justices Scoff At Feds' Defenses In Mistaken FBI Raid Case

By Chart Riggall

Supreme Court justices Tuesday appeared flummoxed by the government's "ridiculous" arguments it should be immune to a Georgia resident's lawsuit over a mistaken FBI raid on her house, but seemed unlikely to issue a blanket ruling on when an officer's discretion trumps their liability for injuries caused by their actions.

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Alex Jones Wants High Court Look At $1.3B Sandy Hook Case

By Brian Steele

Bankrupt Infowars host Alex Jones will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate a mammoth libel judgment that families of Sandy Hook shooting victims secured against him and his company over his conspiratorial broadcasts calling the massacre a hoax, he told a Connecticut appellate court in seeking to extend a pause on the payout.

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Breyer To Talk Pragmatism At NJ Bar Association Convention

By Carla Baranauckas

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will bring his pragmatic legal philosophy to center stage when he appears at the New Jersey State Bar Association Convention on May 16 in Atlantic City.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Altshuler Berzon

ArentFox Schiff LLP

Baker & Hostetler

Broocks Law Firm

Brown Rudnick

Clement & Murphy

Cohn Birnbaum

Dowd Bloch

GPS Legal

Gibbons PC

Gibson Dunn

Hodgson Russ

Jones Day

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Koskoff Koskoff

Latham & Watkins

Lowenstein Sandler

McManimon Scotland

NachtLaw

Neubert Pepe

Pitta LLP

Randazza Legal Group

Riley & Jacobson

Robbins Geller

Shook Hardy

Smith Krivoshey

Spero Law LLC

Sullivan & Cromwell

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AT&T Inc.

Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc.

American Federation of Government Employees

American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations

American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees

American Geophysical Union

American Public Health Association

Apple Inc.

Deere & Co.

Democracy Forward Foundation

FTI Consulting Inc.

Fraternal Order of Police

Gleason Corp.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Hotel Association of New York City Inc.

Institute for Justice

LinkedIn Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Natural Resources Defense Council

New Jersey State Bar Association

New York City Police Benevolent Association

Protect Democracy Project Inc.

Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board

Service Employees International Union

State Bar of Michigan

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Attorney General's Office

California Commission on Judicial Performance

Corporation for National and Community Service

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Trade Commission

Illinois Attorney General's Office

Minnesota Attorney General's Office

National Labor Relations Board

National Science Foundation

New Jersey Supreme Court

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

State of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. General Services Administration

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut